The Bulls are pretty bad this year but they’re still an NBA team…right? Chicago is a +7 underdog on the road at the Barclays Center Tuesday which doesn’t seem bad except for the fact that the home team Nets are on leg two of a B2B. Is a tired Brooklyn team still better than a healthy Chicago team that is coming off a loss to Cleveland?

The Nets played OK Monday night but they ultimately ran out of gas in a 104-112 loss at Boston. Brooklyn had the Celtics on the ropes until a 23-16 fourth quarter deficit ultimately did Kenny Atkinson’s team in. The big question heading into Tuesday’s game is if a tired Brooklyn team is still better than a dysfunctional Bulls squad.

Chicago Bulls

Can anybody pull the trigger on Chicago +7 even though Brooklyn is on a B2B. Granted the Bulls have won a game since December 28th but they’ve also lost 13 contests over that span. Chicago’s only win in the last month was MLK Day at Cleveland – the same team who just beat them 104-101 on Monday.

The weird thing about the Bulls is that on paper they actually have the talent to pull off the upset on any given night – especially when an opponent such as Brooklyn is in their 2nd game in as many nights.

Lauri Markkanen is picking things up lately led by a 21 point, 15 rebound night vs. Cleveland last time out. Zach Lavine 17 points and 12 rebounds – his first game below 22 points in the last four contests. Wayne Selden also saw solid minutes with Chandler Hutchison going down with a toe injury. All total 9 Bulls players saw 11+ minutes of court time last game.

There hasn’t been a whole lot to be optimistic about on either end of the court for Chicago lately. The Bulls offense ranks 28th in scoring and hasn’t put up more than 105 points in the last 8 contests.

Chicago’s defense has held 5 of 8 opponents to 110 points or less however. Chicago is a moderate 16th in the league in points allowed and all total their style of play could lead to an ‘under’ of 217 lean for Tuesday.

Brooklyn Nets

The big question ahead of this matchup is how tired Brooklyn is going to be on the back-to-back. The Nets had rattled off six in a row before falling to Boston although Brooklyn did cover the +9 point spread by a point. During that previous win streak Brooklyn had knocked off quality teams such as the Celtics on 1/14 and Houston on 1/16.

As for how much usage the Nets saw Monday night the team was able to preserve their energy by having ten people play at least 18 minutes vs. the Celtics. Players such as D’Angelo Russell (23:32) and Jarrett Allen (22:29) saw very limited court time which means Tuesday’s game doesn’t fall under normal back-to-back usage metrics.

It’s possible the Nets sacrificed Monday’s game in Boston to ensure they had the resources available to get the win vs. Chicago. Usually beating the Bulls doesn’t take a whole lot but if Brooklyn truly did value Tuesday nights game against Chicago over a tough battle with the Celtics that makes the line of Nets -7 worth incredible value.

NBA Betting Trends:

Bulls are 1-5-1 ATS their last 7 overall

Bulls are 1-7 ATS their last 8 on 1 days rest

Nets are 2-9 ATS their last 11 on 0 days rest

Nets are 6-1 ATS their last 7 home games

Bulls are 0-5 ATS their last five H2H meetings

Free Chicago Bulls vs. Brooklyn Nets NBA Prediction:

Yes Brooklyn comes into Tuesday’s game in a back-to-back but with how deep they went into their lineup Monday the 1 day turnaround shouldn’t be a problem at all. If anything the Nets have just expanded their rotation, making them ultimately fresher to take on Chicago.

The Bulls have a 20 point home loss to Atlanta and an outright defeat by Cleveland at the United Center on their resume over the last week. Quite simply, you can’t bet on the Bulls right now.

4* Free NBA Betting Pick: Nets -8.5

The misconception of Brooklyn being tired from a back-to-back is totally overrated based on their usage last night.

NBA Free Score Prediction: Bulls 98 – Nets 114

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About Carl Taylor

Carl “End Game” Taylor has been engulfed in the sports betting lifestyle for over 20 years. His gambling defeats early on could've put triplets through an Ivy League education. The positive is that now from those lessons learned he enjoys a much better windfall than a piece of paper from Brown or Harvard. Stay tuned for Carl's daily sports betting picks and winning advice.

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